On Friday, April 12, KO music students had the opportunity to attend a performance of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra at The Bushnell in Hartford.
This experience took the place of another event: KO’s Recital Night. The reason for this switch was due to multiple factors, one of which was timing. After much deliberation, the Recital Night coordinators, Outlook and Crimson 7 Director David Baker and Performing Arts Department Chair Kyle Reynolds, decided to cancel KO Recital Night. “We just won’t have one this year because this opportunity is too good to pass up,” Band Director Todd Millen said. It also was a good chance to make connections with one of the orchestra and choir performances, “Gloria,” as the KO students also performed the same piece in December.
After a quick dinner in the KO cafeteria, the members of the choir, orchestra, and a few jazz combo students, boarded the buses to leave KO promptly at 6:00. Upon arrival at the Bushnell, the KO students took their seats. “The actual stage was very interesting,” sophomore jazz combo member Alex Gumkowski recounted. “It sort of had two sections: a section for the orchestra and then another section behind it for a pretty sizable choir.”
After a lengthy introduction from the choral director, Jack Pott, the performance began. Strictly following the precise movements of the orchestra’s conductor, Jacomo Bairos, the entire ensemble opened with their performance of “Spirituals: A Medley.” Following the 15 minute piece was a performance of Édouard Lalo’s “Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21,” that lasted around half an hour. “Seeing the violinist and watching him and the way he played that instrument was just something really cool to see,” Alex said.
After a short intermission, the orchestra proceeded to perform the most anticipated piece of the night, Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” specifically the RV 589 version. “I think it’s interesting in an orchestra how everybody’s sort of synced together,” Alex mentioned. “There’s really no drums emphasizing the tempo that much, but everybody’s on the exact same tempo doing maybe not the same thing, but they’re all sort of in sync.”
Following the 35-minute combined effort of the Hartford Orchestra and Chorale, they concluded the night with Leonard Bernstein’s five-minute composition, “Make our Garden Grow.” The KO students returned to school at around 10:30.
“I think it was just interesting seeing an orchestra play,” Alex concluded. “It’s also inspired me, seeing how confident the players are. It shows that it’s fun to perform at a level like that.”
Mr. Millen plans to bring back Recital Night next year, but this year provided a unique opportunity for KO musicians. “I hope the performance helped the students make a real connection to the music,” Mr. Millen said. “The beauty of the music and knowing the work that goes into creating a performance like that is incredible, and I hope that they all want to go back and hear the symphony again.”
